8 doctors and three engineers in an Emirati family in Kalba

An Emirati known as Nasser Mohammed Al Zaabi, from the city of Kalba, is the father of 12 sons and daughters, all of whom achieved top ranks, qualifying them to study specialties needed by the UAE within its developmental project.

His family was, and still is, a model of an outstanding Emirati family.

Dr Anwar Nasser Al Zaabi, Consultant Cardiologist and Internist, Director of "Sheikh Khalifa Hospital" in Fujairah says, “Our family, Nasser Al Zaabi's family, including our father and mother, consists of 12 brothers and sisters. 8 of us are in medical sciences, 7 doctors and 1 pharmacist, 3 in engineering, and 1 brother in administration.”

“My siblings chose medicine as their path, each specialising in a specific field. I specialised in cardiology and internal medicine, while my sister Dr Mariam works as a consultant dermatologist.”

“Dr Ulfat is a consultant pediatrician, Dr Noha is a consultant pediatrician, and Dr Soha is a pharmaceutical doctor... Dr Mohammed specialised in gastroenterology... Dr Ahmed is studying in Canada and will become a consultant neurologist in two years.”

“Dr Manal is a consultant ophthalmologist. As for my engineer siblings, they are Haitham, a civil engineer, Omar, an electrical engineer, and Iman, a computer engineer. All of them hold leadership positions in their workplaces.”

“My brother Abdul Aziz also excelled in administrative work, serving as Deputy Department Manager at ADNOC company. “

He added, "Our father was a policeman. My parents’ philosophy in life was advice, persuasion, and not forcing anything, along with good manners, which they instilled in us."

“All of us chose our fields of specialisation ourselves and excelled in general education, consistently ranking among the top three in all academic stages. We all studied at universities within the country.”

“The doctors studied at UAE University, with the exception of Dr Ulfat, who graduated from Dubai Medical College, and Dr Manal, from the College of Medicine, University of Sharjah. Dr. Soha, the pharmacist, also studied at Dubai Medical College at our father's expense, as he provided them with financial support and covered all expenses and tuition fees, while the engineering and administrative graduates studied at UAE University.”

Dr Anwar says, “some of us live in Kalba and others in Abu Dhabi and Al Ain. We all live near our father and mother, and we gather with our children weekly at the large family home, like all Emirati families, due to our strong bond. Dr Noha lives with our parents, who are very interested in their grandchildren following in their footsteps, as we work to raise them with our parents' approach.”